Taking the plunge and setting up your first (or next) saltwater aquarium? Congrats, you’re going to love it! If you’re not sure yet what your tank will need, we’ve got you covered. Our saltwater aquarium shopping list contains everything you need to get started.
Take a look at the list below to find out what you should buy and why. Once you’re ready to go, you can print it or save it on your phone to bring with you to the store. Happy fishkeeping!
Should you buy a reef tank kit?
Finding everything you need to start your saltwater aquarium can be a hassle. Aquarium companies know this, which is why many offer aquarium kits. The idea of buying everything in one go is great, and indeed, an aquarium kit can be a great solution that saves you time, effort, and sometimes even money. But should you buy one?
It’s important to remember that most kits don’t include all the equipment you need. They’re often limited to the tank, stand, light, filter, and select accessories—meaning you often still have to buy things like the heater and protein skimmer yourself.
It’s also vital to pay attention to other aquarists’ opinions. This is because aquarium kits sometimes contain lower quality gear (inadequate light, clunky filter, heater that breaks within a year, overheating problems, overly loud fans, that sort of thing). Check if anyone’s updated their review after 1+ year of use: if folks are generally still happy with their kit after this amount of time has passed, you’re probably good to go.
Buying a used tank
We love saving money, we love being environmentally conscious, and we love a good challenge—which is why we love buying used aquarium gear. Buying secondhand can also be a solution for you, especially if you’re on a budget, but it does come with some challenges.
Used aquariums often cost less than 50% of the new price, which is a considerable difference in the more expensive saltwater hobby. You may be able to get all the equipment at once, including all sorts of nice extras like leftover bags of salt, substrate, and the like.
The catch? Something can always go wrong. That’s why we’re working on an instruction guide for buying a used aquarium, so stay tuned!
Saltwater aquarium shopping list
Ready to head to your local aquarium store? Or maybe you’re filling up an online cart or checking whether an aquarium kit has everything you need? Our saltwater aquarium shopping list contains all the basics you need to get started, plus some optional bonus items.
Want to keep the list on hand? Just click the link below and press the “Save” or “Print” button in your browser.
SALTWATER AQUARIUM SHOPPING LIST (.PDF)
Aquarium
- Aquarium
- Stand
- Lid, hood, or mesh top
- Foam protector mat
If this is your first aquarium, we recommend going for at least 15 gallons of water volume. Larger tanks are easily to keep stable and give you more livestock options. Glass tanks are more resistant to scratching, but acrylic is preferred by some because it has superior clarity and is shatterproof.
Cleaning Tools
- Dedicated cleaning bucket
- Algae remover (magnetic or sponge)
- Thin hose
- Towel
- Optional: gravel vacuum
- Optional: cleaning brush (an old toothbrush also works fine)
- Optional: gloves and tongs (to handle fragile or stinging corals and anemones)
Cycling Tools
- Pure ammonia
- Marine bottled bacteria
If you don’t know what this refers to, it’s crucial to read our post on cycling an aquarium before doing anything else. Your fish and corals will die without a stable nitrogen cycle!
Décor
- Dry or live rock
- Reef-safe substrate (aragonite, live sand, etc.)
- Background (sticker or 3d, must be resistant to salt)
- Optional: coral plugs or frag racks (reef only)
- Optional: hides or PVC fittings for fish/inverts
- Optional: aquascaping glue or epoxy
If you’re missing corals here, that’s because you should cycle your aquarium first (see above). Once that’s done, you may feel free to go crazy with LPS, SPS, and macroalgae!
Filtration
- Filter or sump
- Filter media (if it didn’t come included; find out more in the post on filter media)
- Filter floss
- Protein skimmer (kind of optional, but highly recommended for reefs)
Some reef aquariums don’t use a filter, relying instead on live rock and a protein skimmer. For first-time aquarists, we do recommend the use of at least a small aquarium filter. It’ll help keep your tank stable!
Temperature Control
- Heater (marine-safe, rated for your tank size)
- Thermometer (digital or glass)
- Optional: cooling fans (if your home gets hot in summer)
- Optional: cheap backup thermometer
We can’t recommend a backup thermometer enough. In our experience, a significant percentage of fish tank catastrophes involve the heater breaking or not being plugged back in after maintenance (killing fish through fluctuation and cold) or overheating.
Lighting
- LED aquarium light
- Optional: LED light controller
If you’re planning on growing corals, you should do some research into lighting before buying. Like live plants in freshwater tanks, corals have certain light requirements that not any old lamp can meet.
Circulation
- Optional: powerhead or wavemaker (almost always used in larger tanks)
- Optional: battery air pump or backup bubbler
Water Chemistry Tools
- RO/DI water (enough to fill up your tank; or your own RO/DI system)
- Marine salt mix
- Salt mixing bucket
- Refractometer or hydrometer
- Water test kits:
- Ammonia
- Nitrite
- Nitrate
- pH
- Alkalinity (dKH)
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Optional: phosphate
- Optional: TDS meter
Tip: if you can’t be bothered to mess around with mixing your own seawater, some aquarium stores also sell it premade. It’ll cost you more, but you might find it worth it.
Electrical & Automation
- Power strip with surge protection
- Light timer
- Auto top-off system (optional)
- Automatic feeder (optional)
We recommend a power strip with six or so outlets; saltwater aquariums in particular come with a bunch of electrical devices that need to be plugged in. Timers and automatic systems are almost always a good idea, unless you never travel overnight.
Livestock Tools
- Net (standard size)
- Quarantine tub with small (sponge) filter
- Optional: drip acclimation kit
Saltwater fish and other livestock are quite sensitive. You should always quarantine new additions to prevent introducing diseases into your tank, and since you can’t just plonk fish and corals right into different water than what they’re used to, a drip kit is invaluable.
Conclusion
There’s a lot involved in setting up a saltwater aquarium! We’ve only mentioned the basics here—depending on what kind of tank you’d like to have, there are many more fishkeeping accessories you might need.
Shopping for a new tank is fun, but also overwhelming. If you don’t have the time or expertise, FantaSEA Aquariums can help: contact us so we can design, set up, and maintain your dream tank for you.
